TAKE NO VACATION FROM MAKING SCHOOLS BETTER
SUMMER SCHOOL: LAUSD offers just 170 credit-recovery classes at 16 of its nearly 100 high schools—the smallest offering ever.
THEMES IN THE NEWS | A WEEKLY COMMENTARY WRITTEN BY UCLA IDEA ON THE IMPORTANT ISSUES IN EDUCATION AS COVERED BY THE NEWS MEDIA | WEEK OF JULY 1-5, 2013 | HTTP://BIT.LY/12JMJCZ
7-03-2013 :: Many adults carry memories of “the last day of school.” After an excruciating wind-down of tests and ceremonies, we walked out of our last class and emptied all thoughts of lessons. Of course, some would start up right away with summer school—reluctantly to make up a class or voluntarily to take an “enrichment” course. But still, there were at least some unencumbered weeks for sports, play late into summer nights, and sleeping in; and for the more fortunate, travel or camp.After years of budget cuts, many school districts have eliminated or severely curtailed both summer enrichment programs and traditionally taught academic classes. Now that the financial freefall has slowed, some districts are looking to reinstate summer programs. Yet, by all accounts, any recovery of summer school programs is hit or miss, and not moving fast enough to meet the needs of the state’s struggling students.
Meanwhile, an increasing body of research shows that not giving a thought to lessons during a summer-long vacation is a seriously lost opportunity for a great many students. That research shows that the achievement gap worsens during the summer break, and programs are often not well-enough targeted to help the most academically vulnerable. Finally, many families, rich and poor, are rediscovering summer school as a way to access creative and enriching programs (New York Times, USA Today). That these classes are the most engaging—call it fun—for students, attests to the power of breaking up schooling routines with more and better schooling—rather than defaulting to the empty days of no school at all.
The loss of summer school programs has prompted a new statewide initiative, Summer Matters. Its mission is to create and expand